Former President Barack Obama claimed in an interview Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had tried to drag him into a war with Iran.
Obama told The New Yorker that throughout his presidency, Netanyahu had tried to make the same arguments he made with President Donald Trump to launch a full-scale war against the Iranian regime. Critics of the Iran War have argued that Israel ultimately pushed Trump into the war against America’s self-interests, with The New York Times reporting that Netanyahu and Mossad, Israel’s national intelligence agency, made a “hard sell” to the president ahead of the initial strikes Feb. 28. (RELATED: Joe Kent Says Iran Wasn’t On Verge Of Getting Nukes)
“I think my prognosis was accurate,” Obama said. Maybe with the war, Netanyahu has “gotten what he wanted. Whether that’s what is ultimately best for the Israeli people, I would question that. Whether I think it’s what is good for the United States and America, I would question that. I think there’s an ample record of my differences with Mr. Netanyahu.”
WASHINGTON – MAY 18: (ISRAEL OUT) In this handout photo provided by the Israeli Press Office (GPO), U.S. President Barack Obama (L) meets with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House May 18, 2009 in Washington, DC. The two leaders were expected to discuss issues related to the Palestinian peace process and a new strategy on relations with Iran. (Photo by Amos Moshe Milner/GPO via Getty Images)
Obama also addressed Trump’s threats in early April to wipe out Iranian civilization.
“I believe American leadership, as represented by the American President, has to reflect a basic regard for human dignity and decency, not just within our own borders but beyond,” the former president told the New Yorker. “That’s part of the responsibility of leadership. If we are not giving voice to those core values—that there are innocent people in countries with terrible governments and we have to care about those people, that we can make mistakes if we are not guarding against hubris and pure self-interest … If we don’t have those things, the world can break in very bad ways.”
The New York Times’ report from early April detailed a crucial February meeting that took place between Trump, Netanyahu, and top cabinet members and national security officials from both the Trump Administration and Netanyahu’s government.
During the meeting, Israeli officials pitched Trump a regime change war that would end in near-certain victory and so weaken the regime that it would not be able to cut off and control the Strait of Hormuz. Mossad’s intelligence was also optimistic, reportedly indicating that if the bombing was intense enough, it could create the conditions for the opposition in Iran to quickly topple the regime. The spy agency also pointed to the prospect of the Iranian Kurdish fighters opening up a new front in the war that would fuel the regime’s collapse.
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 07: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accompanied by U.S. President Donald Trump (L), speaks during a dinner in the Blue Room of the White House on July 07, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump is hosting Netanyahu to discuss a potential ceasefire agreement to end the fighting in Gaza. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“Mr. Netanyahu delivered his presentation in a confident monotone,” The New York Times reported. “It seemed to land well with the most important person in the room, the American president. Sounds good to me, Mr. Trump told the prime minister. To Mr. Netanyahu, this signaled a likely green light for a joint U.S.-Israeli operation.”
The Trump administration has repeatedly denied that Israel played an outsized role in their decision to launch Operation Epic Fury, and so has Netanyahu.
“They were going to attack if we didn’t do it,” Trump said early in March at the outset of the war. “They were going to attack first. I felt strongly about that. I think they were going to attack first, and I didn’t want that to happen. So, if anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand. But Israel was ready, and we were ready, and we’ve had a very, very powerful impact.”
Trump was more blunt April 20, writing in a Truth Social post, “Israel never talked me into the war with Iran.”